bolivianbaby

Could I put either a red-tailed shark OR a rainbow shark in a 29 gallon aquarium with either of the following community fish:

6 black phantom tetras
2 bolivian rams
4 mickey mouse platys
1 Angelfish

OR

6 pristella tetras
6 neon tetras
5 false julii corydoras
1 Paradise Gourami

If the shark would be compatible with only a few, I can always re-arrange the stocking. My 2nd 29 just cycled, so I can still change any stocking as long as I can keep the full schools of tetras. As of now, it only has 3 neon tetras as I'm waiting to make sure there is no ammonia or nitrite spike with the new additions.

enthusiast

both those fish get huge, and are aggressive and territorial; imo, I'd say you should stray from either of the sharks

capekate

Hi there,
The red-tailed shark gets to around 4.25 inches and the Rainbow grows to around 6 inches. Tho they are not necessarly large fish, they do need lots of swimming area and your 29g tank is just not going to give it to them. As they mature they can get pretty testy with other fish.
I personally like your second option of:
6 pristella tetras
6 neon tetras
5 false julii corydoras
1 Paradise Gourami
Over your first option that included the Angelfish which may get bothered by the BST, as they can be nippers.
The Paradise fish, or Paradise Gourami can get pretty nasty too and they do like to fight with other fish, so you may or may not want to consider one of them, but may want to go with another single Gourami?
neon tetra's are very sensitive to new aquariums and I hope that your tank gets truly cycled before you add any more fish.

bolivianbaby

Okay, so the sharks are not an option. Glad I checked ahead of time. I was just going to see if I could. Thank you for your advice. I'd rather have a happy compatible stocking than an unhappy, incompatible stocking.

Also, I have two 29 gallon aquariums, so I can put the pristellas with the angelfish if I need to instead of the black phantoms tetras. So should I put the pristellas with the angelfish and the black phantoms with the gourami?

I goofed on the species of Gourami. I meant to say Pearl Gourami.